Giants and A’s have made tectonic shift since 1989 earthquake

Updated 8:58 pm, Thursday, October 16, 2014

Photo: Rich Pilling, Getty Images

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A general view of Candlestick Park after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit prior to World Series game three between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants on October 17, 1989 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. The game was postponed for 10 days. less

A general view of Candlestick Park after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit prior to World Series game three between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants on October 17, 1989 at Candlestick Park in San ... more

Photo: Rich Pilling, Getty Images

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Members of the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants gather on the field with their familes and security personnel after an earthquake struck prior to game three of the World Series on October 17, 1989 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. less

Members of the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants gather on the field with their familes and security personnel after an earthquake struck prior to game three of the World Series on October 17, 1989 at ... more

Photo: Ron Kuntz Collection

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Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants players push up against the backstop at they try to speak to friends and family members in the stands in the moments following the Loma Prieta Earthquake during game 3 of the World Series on October 17, 1989, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Calif. less

Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants players push up against the backstop at they try to speak to friends and family members in the stands in the moments following the Loma Prieta Earthquake during game 3 ... more

Photo: John O'Hara

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Officials stand on the field after an earthquake struck before game three of the 1989 World Series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, California. less

Officials stand on the field after an earthquake struck before game three of the 1989 World Series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989 in San ... more

Photo: Michael Zagaris

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MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent reacts moments after an earthquake struck Candlestick Park before game three of the 1989 World Series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, California. Also pictured are Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley (standing, far left) and National League President Bill White (seated, left). less

MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent reacts moments after an earthquake struck Candlestick Park before game three of the 1989 World Series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants on October 17, 1989 in ... more

Photo: Michael Zagaris

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A general view of Candlestick Park after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit prior to World Series game three between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants on October 17, 1989 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. The game was postponed for 10 days. less

A general view of Candlestick Park after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit prior to World Series game three between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants on October 17, 1989 at Candlestick Park in San ... more

Photo: Rich Pilling, Getty Images

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Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants players waited on the field in the moments following the 7.1 magnitude Loma Prieta Earthquake that struck during game 3 of the World Series on October 17, 1989, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Calif. less

Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants players waited on the field in the moments following the 7.1 magnitude Loma Prieta Earthquake that struck during game 3 of the World Series on October 17, 1989, at ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez

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Giants manager, Roger Craig, center right, speaks with tk and tk, in the moments following the Loma Prieta Earthquake during game 3 of the World Series on October 17, 1989, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Calif. less

Giants manager, Roger Craig, center right, speaks with tk and tk, in the moments following the Loma Prieta Earthquake during game 3 of the World Series on October 17, 1989, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez

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Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants players gather on the field with family and friends in the moments following the Loma Prieta Earthquake during game 3 of the World Series on October 17, 1989, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Calif. less

Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants players gather on the field with family and friends in the moments following the Loma Prieta Earthquake during game 3 of the World Series on October 17, 1989, at ... more

Photo: John O'Hara

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Jose Canseco and members of the Oakland Athletics leave Candlestick Park with their families after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit prior to World Series game three between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants on October 17, 1989 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. The game was postponed for 10 days. less

Jose Canseco and members of the Oakland Athletics leave Candlestick Park with their families after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit prior to World Series game three between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco ... more

Photo: Rich Pilling, Getty Images

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Will Clark of the San Francisco Giants and his brother walk off the field after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Bay Area, postponing Game three of the 1989 World Series against the Oakland Athletics.

Will Clark of the San Francisco Giants and his brother walk off the field after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Bay Area, postponing Game three of the 1989 World Series against the Oakland Athletics.

Photo: Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images

Giants and A’s have made tectonic shift since 1989 earthquake

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If there’s one thing the Giants and A’s front offices despise, it’s being compared to each other. Even with such clear advantages in so many ways, the Giants don’t want to hear anything about Oakland. As they fiercely protect their territorial rights, they’d be delighted if the A’s just disappeared.

The A’s, meanwhile, view the high-and-mighty Giants as more than a little obnoxious.

Think back, though, as we ponder the 25th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. One very important factor hasn’t changed: This summer, as in 1989, fans savored the prospect of a Bay Bridge World Series. Perhaps we’d still be discussing it, were it not for a few unfortunate events in Kansas City on Sept. 30.

Everything else: radically different.

In 1989, the Giants were the team in the crummy ballpark, uncertain about their future while their fans feared a transfer to some other city and the eventual demise of Candlestick Park.

Perhaps the old Oakland Coliseum couldn’t measure up to the American League’s classiest yards, but the visiting writers loved it. They enjoyed the sublime East Bay weather, the fresh green grass (at least until the Raiders took the field) and the pristine views beyond the outfield bleachers and into the Oakland hills.

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Now it’s the Giants basking in the glory of a sparkling yard — easily one of the best in the country and a veritable revenue machine — with no end in sight. The Coliseum has become a lamentable old dump, wrecked by the Mount Davis construction in 1996 and a doomed sort of wasteland, with no guarantee the A’s or the Raiders have a future in Oakland.

Franchise reputations have changed greatly, as well.

I’ve always ranked the ’89 A’s with the greatest teams in history. They had “best-ever” types in leadoff man Rickey Henderson and closer Dennis Eckersley. Dave Stewart made a habit of making the fabled Roger Clemens look dramatically overmatched. And just forget steroids when it comes to Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire; yes, they were juiced, but those were the times. They would have been elite power hitters in any era.

While the A’s remained a power over the next three years, the Giants were at the peak of Roger Craig’s “Humm-baby” regime and about to take a fall. They won just 85 games the following year, then staggered through two losing seasons before Dusty Baker replaced Craig (and had a 103-win team right out of the gate in ’93).

For both clubs, there were turning points in the late ’90s. The two longest-tenured general managers in the major leagues are Brian Sabean, who took over at the conclusion of the ’96 season, and Billy Beane, who assumed that role almost exactly a year later. They also happen to be two of the best.

By 2000, a downtrodden A’s team was back in the postseason, and the 2001 team was an absolute gem, winning 102 games and taking the Yankees to the five-game limit in the American League Championship Series.

Regrettably, flights of fancy have greatly distorted that period. If “Moneyball” means making the best of a paltry budget, getting the maximum out of marginal talent and gaining an edge in advanced metrics, then that’s absolutely how Beane has kept the team in contention in recent years.

Such marvelous deception. The book and the movie were charmingly crafted and delightful, and also just chock full of lies.

The plain truth is that Beane hasn’t been able to establish or maintain such a talent-laden team since the gradual disappearance of those outright stars. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen — nobody puts anything past the wildly maneuvering Beane — but it certainly doesn’t seem likely any time soon.

While the A’s grasped and tinkered in the realm of minutiae, the Giants came to realize that Barry Bonds had stayed around too long. Sabean always knew that, but he was beholden to the wishes of Peter Magowan and Larry Baer, who realized Bonds’ marketing value.

The team was a dreadful shambles during Bonds’ final three seasons in San Francisco, all about a home-run record and national publicity while 24 teammates stood around as irrelevant window dressing. It killed Sabean to perpetuate the ownership-driven charade, especially at the cost of draft picks (he needed veteran players to surround Bonds). But everything changed when Bonds retired.

Sabean began building the club from within, striking a beautiful balance between old-school scouting and sabermetrics and riding such draft choices as Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner right into the 2010 World Series. Manager Bruce Bochy had one year of Bonds (2007) and there would be no instant recovery, but he eventually enjoyed the pleasure of a tight-knit, successful clubhouse full of team players — elements that remain in place.

So where did it all lead? The Giants are enjoying their most successful five-year run since the New York Giants of the early 1920s. The A’s are decidedly grumpy, every player knowing he could be the next to be traded, and manager Bob Melvin still can’t quite comprehend that two-month fall from grace. Whichever side of the bay you prefer, be grateful every day the earth doesn’t move — and that neither of our teams is the Houston Astros.

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